Vestibular Socket Therapy: A Novel Approach for Implant Placement in Defective Fresh Extraction Sockets With or Without Active Socket Infection (One-Arm Cohort Study)

Purpose: This study aimed to assess the radiographic, esthetic, and periodontal outcomes after 1 year of implant placement in compromised fresh extraction sockets in the esthetic zone using vestibular socket therapy.
Materials and Methods: Implants were placed in type 2 sockets using vestibular socket therapy, which includes immediate implant placement, vestibular incision, and cortical bone shield stabilization, along with filling the socket gap with particulate bone graft, then sealing the socket orifice with a customized healing abutment in one visit. A 6-day protocol of antimicrobial therapy for treating sockets with active infection was also described. Assessment included measuring bone height and labial plate thickness at three levels at baseline and after 1 year, in addition to pink esthetic score and periodontal parameters (modified sulcus Bleeding Index and peri-implant probing depth) after 1 year. SPSS was used to calculate descriptive statistics of outcome measures.
Results: All 16 implants used in the study showed success. There was a significant increase of bone height and bone thickness at the middle and crestal thirds (mean [SD] gain = 6.08 [3.07], 1.65 [0.91], and 1.18 [1.51]). The mean (SD) pink esthetic score was 12.63 (1.71), the mean (SD) modified sulcus Bleeding Index was 1.19 (0.40), and the mean (SD) peri-implant probing depth was 1.97 (0.46) mm.
Conclusion: Vestibular socket therapy was successfully used in compromised sockets with optimum radiographic, esthetic, and periodontal outcomes in addition to minimizing treatment time and number of surgical interventions. The 6-day protocol was able to eliminate infection and prepare sockets for implant placement.